Gun-stock for rifles, guns, and small-arms



' Patented .May 3, 1921;

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1 1| n I: i l. IAN! III, IV in N. P. BUMP GUN STOCK FOR RIFLES, GUNS, AND vSMALL ARMS.

' APPLICATION map MAY 29. 1918.

N. P. BUMP. GUN STOCK FOR RIFLES, G UNS, AND'SMA'LL ARMS.

. APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, I918- I 1,376,917. Patented May 3, 1921';

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE]- NELSON I. BUMP, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO C.. G. WILLIAMS,

ACTING CHIEF OF ORDNANCE, UNITED STATES ARMY, TRUSTEE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

Application filed May 29, 1918. Serial No. 237,324.

(FILED UNDER THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1883, 22 STAT L, 625.) 1

To all whom. it may concern:

7 Be it known thatI, NELSON PERRY BUMP, captain, Ordnance Reserve Corps, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gun-Stocks for Rifles, Guns,-

ber of a size hitherto discarded and wasted. To this end the invention consists in mak-- ing a laminated gunstock, the plies of which are composed of pieces of lumber that, are thinner than those necessary in turning'gunstocks of one piece.

Y This invention in this manner greatlyvincreases production, by making available millions of feet of dry black walnut for the manufacture of gunstockswhich at the present time can not be used, as lumber only about 1 thick is necessary, in place of the 2 lumber required for the single piece ,gunstocks. The lumber thusused is easier to kiln dry and so an increased quantity production isattained at a decreased cost.

At the same time the gunstock thus made will not warp and is stronger than those heretofore made.

:In connection with this specification'reference is had to the accompanying drawings constituting a part thereof, anduin which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, vpartly in section, of a gunstock constructedin accordance with this invention, showing the approximate direction of the grain in the out side plies of the completed gunstock by meansof arrows,

Figs. 2, 3 and4 are plan butt-end, and fore-end views of the same respectively showing the jointed method of constructing the gunstock,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail showing'lthe dovetailed joint between'the plies,

Figs. 6 and 7 are side elevation and plan machining them from single pieces of hard views respectivelyof the built up laminated plank from which the gunstock blanksare cut out and showing the approximate direction of the: grain in the outside plies and also showing the plain glued type of joint.

' Fig.8 is a butt-end enlarged view of the plank showing the approximate direction 0 the grain in the three plies, Fig. 9 is a detailed end view of a built up plank showing a'slightly different method of construction, and I ,Fig. 10 is a detailed partial view in perspective of a similar multiply construction of the plank.

. In the present war in Europe a gunstock has not only beencalled upon to withstand the shock of recoil from heavyfiring charges but also great strain in protecting the body of the. soldier in close combat and in beating ud own 'the wire entanglements in advance over them, and for the further use as a club in attack upon the enemy in close hand to a hand fighting. The old method of constructing gunstocks consisted in turning and wood, the grain in the finishedgunstock running generally in one direction. The rough work ofpresent methods of fighting have found this one piecegunstock lacking in strength at the smallof the stock, the 'point B,F1g.: l. I A large percentage of 'gunstocks break atthis pointin actual service necessitating the retention of a large number of spares in order to maintain one rifle in service.

A gunstock constructed in accordance with this invention consists of three pieces arranged in compo ite form as shown in Fig. 2 in which'the two outside plies are desi nated 1 and 2 while 3 is the center or hol ing ply. The center ply or tang 3 is nar rower, than theoutside or cheek pliesl and 2. The joint 4: between the plies may be made either plain surfaced, grooved or-dovetailed as desired. 'In Figs. 1 to 5inclusive it: is shown dovetailed while in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 it is shown plainvsurfaced. ,The plies ,1 and 2 are exactlysimilar to each other as to" .formfand size and are held: fast tothe re- ,specti've sidesvof the center ply by means .fof.; 1 05-- water-proofglue. WVater-proof glue may also be used wheneverthe jointsare dovenot only the length of the stock proper (from B to C in Fig. 1 of the drawlngs) but also throughout the length of the butt, as shown at 4: in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The joint between the laminations is clearly shown at the point 8 broken away in F ig- 1.

In Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 10 the surface between the plies is shown plain surfaced throughout the entire length of the plank the plies being held firmly together by means of water-proof glue. The'outside plies in each instance, however, have the grain running approximately in the direction shown'in Fig. l, 2'. e. A B C, general direction A C. 7 1

The center or tang ply in each instance is selected so that the grain will be mixed and run at different angles from the grain on the outside plies throughout the length of the gunstock. The effect of this construction is to create opposite stresses in the three plies which tend to keep the gunstock absolutely straight, strengthening itgreatly and making it almost impossible tosplit.

Although the three-ply method of construction is preferred this invention is not limited to such construction but any number of plies may be used in building up the composite plank as shown in Figs. 9 and 10 wherein six pieces are shown. The joints between the various laminations may be of any center ply is indicated by 3 and 3 In carrying out this invention the following method of construction is employed in order to attain the desiredresults: The green black walnut lumber is first sawed into planks about 1" thick and subjected to steam bath until completely saturatedfso as to bring out the sap. The next operation is to place thissteamed lumber into a kiln to dry by a slow drying process which will ultimately bring the lumber to about 5% moisture content. Slow kiln drying isnecessary because it does not injure the wood as does fast kiln drying.

Whenthe lumber is removed from the drying kilns it is stored'in a room of normal temperature for six days to take on as much moisture as it will naturally hold. The lumher is then planed "and surfaced to the desired size in a room which is of the same temperature as the room in which it has been stored. The finished lumber after this operation is then stored for atleast four days in a room where the laminated planks are built up and glued. This method insures a correct and even moisture content for the lumber and even temperature for the gluing process. I

After the laminated planks are contions beingselected to run in the laid on as indicated in phantom in Fig. 6, so thatthe grain in the outside plies, lie in the general direction A C Fig. 1, and then the rough gunstock blanks are stored in a room of normal temperature for at least four days. The blanks are then ready for turning and machining and-when this is done the stock is stored in a room of normal temperature and allowed to set.

'The water-proofing solution isnow applied either by immersing the gunstock in linseed oil or applying linseed oil in a vacuum which process tends to saturate the gunstock completely with oil. In place of using linseed oil alone as-the waterproofing agent, hot linseed oil mixed with a drier may similarly be employed. The usual bronze water-proofing is then' applied to the butt section ofthe gunstockwhere the-oiler and thong case is inserted at 5 in Fig. 1 and also to fore-end 6 and to the balance holes 7 of the gunstock. The gunstock is now placed in a room of normal temperature ,for. two days before "final assembling of the completed rifle or other small arm.

It is not absolutely'essential that the grain in the center ply run at different angles to the grain of the outside plies as long as the center ply has a grain that is mixed. Tests have shown that the glued joint between the plies is actually stronger than the wood itself. I

' Thus a gunstock'made in accordance with this invention is a great deal stronger than one made bythe single piece method of construction, while costing decidedly less because this method makes available millions of feetof black walnut which is dry and absolutely useless for the manufacture of gunstocks using the one piece method. Also the offal obtained in the manufacture of the one piece'gunstocks can be utilized in the manufacture of gunstocks under this invention. Further, using thinner lumber than that which is used in the manufacture of one will greatly increase the rate of production of the. finished stocks. What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. 'Amethod of forming composite guni stocks, 'which' consists in forming laminated planks, the laminations being previously steamed to remove the sap and then slowly kiln dried, the grain in the outside laminageneral I direction from lower point of the butt to the fore-end of the stock.

. 2. A methodof forming composite gun stocks which consists in forming laminated planks, the laminations being previously "steamed to remove the'sap, then slowly kilndried, blanking out the rough stock with the grain in the outside laminations running in the general direction from the lower point of the butt to the fore end of the stock, turning and machining the blanks and waterproofing the same to form a completed gun stock. 7

3. A method of forming composite gun stocks, which consists. in steaming thin 10 laminations of green lumber to remove the sap, then slowly kiln-drying the same, assembling and gluing the laminations to form planks of the desired thickness, blanking out the rough stock with the grain in the out side laminations running in the general direction from the heel of the butt to the fore end of the stock, turning and machining the blanks and water-proofing the same to form a completed gun'stock.

- NELSON P. BUMP. 

